


Optimism

by Maeve_of_Winter



Series: Married in Vegas [3]
Category: The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Instant Marriage, Las Vegas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 10:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2064540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/pseuds/Maeve_of_Winter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mart muses on his marriage to Dan. Follows "Fools Marry For Love" and "Reactions."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Optimism

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Jix prompt of "shoes."
> 
> I welcome constructive criticism on all of my works. If you want to leave a comment, that's perfectly fine, but if you'd prefer to send a message, my email is goldphoenixrising@yahoo.com.

In Mart's defense, his reasons for thinking he and Dan would be a good couple sound much more intelligent in his head than spoken aloud. He already is aware of the discrepancy in logic that occurs when words transfer from his brain to his mouth, but it's reinforced by the look of disgust and incredulity his statement garners from Dan. 

(Mart decides to leave Dan to his moping and go out and grab some coffee. Lord knows it will take a boatload of caffeine to deal with the day ahead of him.)

But the point he's trying to make isn't about disliking Meg Ryan's movies or thinking visions of utopia aren't clearly reflected in JJ Abrams's _Star Trek_ movies. It's about sharing common interests; it's about knowing each other's stance on certain remakes or specific genres, being able to predict what each other will say when a broad topic is raised in conversation.

They've lived together for four years, now. He knows what type of running shoes, food, and books Dan prefers. He can deduce what Dan will write his essays about, can guess what television programs Dan will watch, can presume what methods and materials Dan will use for home repair. He knows who Dan is.

(The search for coffee is not an extensive journey. Ubiquitously, there is a Starbucks on the first floor of their hotel. In addition to his own drink, Mart orders Dan a hazelnut iced coffee- he knows Dan's favorite flavor, and he knows that Dan prefers cold over warm coffee in the summertime. Because it's Vegas, where hangovers are in constant need of curing, the morning rush is still in full swing. Mart settles at table to wait for his order.)

Maybe Mart should be more freaked out about marrying his best friend, but he's always figured he would end up with Diana or Dan. They're basically the only people he's ever dated, even throughout high school and college. Whether that's a sign of loyalty or obsession, Mart is less certain.

Diana ended things with him permanently before this past Christmas- she was tired of flings and wanted a mature relationship. Mart can't blame her. She has a good point- mature relationships is not an area where Mart excels, hence why he's bounced back and forth between Dan and Diana for years.

Without Diana, that leaves Dan.

Last night, they saw a newly married couple. Both the bride and the groom were radiant, crying and smiling at the same time.

"I want to be happy like that someday," Dan said. "When I'm married. If I marry."

"I promise I'll make that happen," Mart vowed. And when he pointed out the instant chapel, Dan had been enthusiastic and eager in response. They were waiting in line minutes later, Dan laughing and shaking his head at himself for being so irresponsible yet so giddy, so flippant and jovial about make a lifelong commitment. 

They'd both been drinking, though Mart didn't realize just _how_ drunk Dan had been until just a few minutes ago.

Looking back, perhaps Mart was trying to prove himself last night. Even now, maybe he's trying to prove he's ready, he's capable, he's mature enough take the next step with a person he cares about, a person who's a central factor in his life.

A person who Mart wants to remain a central factor in his life.

Dan said he wanted to be married and be happy. What better person to be married to than Mart, his longtime best friend who knows him better than anyone else, and is thus capable of making him happy?

(The barista calls Mart's order from the counter, and he moves to retrieve the beverages.)

He's married to someone. Someone he knows, someone he loves, someone he trusts, someone he's comfortable around. And that someone is Dan.

Call Mart overly optimistic, but he can't see anything wrong with themselves, any reason why their relationship is doomed to failure, just because they made a rash decision.

Granted, if Mart could do last night over, he wouldn't choose a spontaneous Vegas wedding during which they were both drunk, Dan to the point of blacking out.

Hey, hindsight always leaves more room for mistakes.

But they love each other. They care about each other. And that's what marriage is about. They can make this work if they make an effort. Mart knows that, and he knows Dan knows that.

He already lost Dan once. When Dan relocated to New England at the close of their sophomore year of high school, Mart felt as though a piece of his soul was torn away from him. He can remember how the sheer emptiness of when he realized Dan was gone, how the days seemed to stretch before him in a vast void, endlessly bleak and repetitive, with nothing to provide a relief from the monotony. He moped throughout the entire summer and a portion of his junior year, when he finally accepted that Dan wasn't going to return just because Mart wanted him to.

In a way, Dan leaving him behind was a good thing. Mart had long valued Dan because of the connection the two of them shared, which could not match any of their other relationships. He'd taken pride- perhaps too much- in having a close friend that he didn't have to share with his siblings. Oh, sure, Dan was friends with all of the Beldens, but that didn't change that he was Mart's friend first and foremost.

Possibly Dan's departure was fate's way of punishing him for being all too smug about having Dan as a close friend. Regardless, once Dan was gone, Mart was forced to reevaluate himself, forced to finding his own footing and his own identity without Dan being there to define him.

After leaving Sleepyside, Dan visited every once in a while, about each month, more or less. To Mart, it was clear that Dan hadn't felt comfortable coming back- he wanted to be well and truly gone, for Sleepyside to be entirely in his past. 

That's part of why Mart doesn't want a divorce- he can't help but feel that if he loses Dan now, he'll lose him forever. That he'll be just another part of the Sleepyside past Dan wants to forget. That everything they ever shared in high school and college will be lost to the mists of time and memory.

If they stay married, he will have Dan in his future. If they don't, Mart will become nothing more than a fleeting, infrequent thought in Dan's mind.

Maybe even now, Mart's being selfish. But it's worth it if he gets to keep Dan in his life in any capacity, be it friend, boyfriend, or spouse.

(Squaring his shoulders, Mart hefts the drinks, and turns to walk back to their room. Hopefully, the coffee will go a ways towards reducing Dan's pessimism, and divorce won't be his only suggestion.)


End file.
